I was on a roll and enjoying writing regularly for my Spanish adventure blog when I took on a new project that has completely consumed me over the last few months. Leaving my blog writing somewhere at the bottom of my priority list. Not good but sometimes living in Spain just works like that. It is rather easy to get sucked into the ‘mañana’ mentality, as in ‘I will do it tomorrow’. This doesn’t mean that I have been lazing about, enjoying the sweltering heat, running to the beach early mornings to claim a spot by jamming my parasol into the sand, to then return hours later, as a lot of summer holiday makers seem to do. None of that. In fact I have been busy interviewing people, writing articles, translating articles, taking pictures and finding free pictures on the net. I am also selecting recipes that I have either invented or that come from a recipe book that I wrote over 15 years ago, but was never published. All those years ago I specifically went on a trip to Italy to interview Italian friends and their mothers for recipes.
You see, it doesn’t matter if you put time and effort in something and not see an immediate result. I like to include recipes in the web magazine and ‘hey presto’ I have many to share. This does mean that I have to cook them to take pictures as well, but that is a pleasure as I do like to cook and my Spanish husband is happy to try whatever I prepare for lunch and dinner. But creating a web magazine requires a lot more. It means I have to scroll to and make summaries and translate information about events sent by the town hall, like blues, hip-hop, jazz and other music festivals and much much more such as flamenco shows, etc.
It also involves asking people to write and submit articles. Because a web magazine needs interesting articles and in this case with a link to La Herradura, the village where I live, as the website is called La Herradura Cultural. Looking for interesting subjects can be a challenge. Managing a web magazine also means thinking up new ideas and features to use on the site in collaboration with my colleague and website builder Ferry Verhoeve. Then, by the end of the week, incorporating all these images, articles and notifications into the web magazine, both in Spanish and in English. And last but not least finding potential clients who would like to advertise on the page. And the potential is there I am sure, as the advertiser is getting prominent attention in the form of an interview which is translated into an article with attractive images. I feel like a time juggler trying to find weekly moments where I can visit the various places, like hotels, local bookshops, and other places where my latest book
‘Reflections from La Herradura’ is for sale, to find out whether something has been sold. In Spain you also have to pay autonomo, which is a monthly fee of almost 300 euros, whether you manage to earn that or not, so the pressure is on! This means I am also trying to find the time to post on Twitter, Buffer, Instagram and Facebook to let people know that I still exist and actually have some pretty cool arty stuff for sale. So if you happen to be my ‘friend’ you might come across a few sentences about my Cheers book, my visualisation books and the La Herradura book, but also about my ‘Surrender balls’, each with a specific meaning.
You think that is enough? Not really as I also want to let you know that my first visualisation book is now available in audio in Dutch and I am working on a series of Ascended Masters cards.
Moreover I would like to remind you that my mandalas (horoscope, elephant, angel and inspirational mandalas) and some of my flamenco paintings are available on products such as bags, t-shirts, skirts and much more. Sometimes the time juggling is a struggle as I also need to find time to chat with friends to avoid myself from going mad and to find time to relax, which is not happening enough. Having said that, I do seem to have finally picked up a daily routine in doing a morning meditation, which is more like a fight in my head to concentrate on my breathing whilst my ‘to do today and mañana lists’ are screaming for attention. It has to be said that I am getting better at it and actually am enjoying these early morning moments with myself. Perhaps this is teaching me a lesson. Take it easy. What cannot be done today will be done tomorrow, and tomorrow does sometimes arrive. Like this blog!
For information about the La Herradura book you can go here and remember, you don’t have to be in La Herradura to enjoy it but you might want to go there when you read it.
You can click on the various bold words to go directly to the information.
Are you interested in a publicity article in La Herradura Cultural. Feel free to contact me via renate@laherradura-cultural.eu
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